Aloha All,
The corrosion control effort by IJN was to apply a zinc chromate style prevention on the interior of the exterior skin...called "Aotake", it is translated as "blue bamboo". It is also spelled "Aodake" when it is used in select Japanese sentences...yet the non-Japanese use "Aotake" as the general term. However, the modeler must know WHICH "Aotake" is used by which manufacturer...as there are TWO VERSIONS: one is a "candy blue" as the name suggests, and the other is a "candy green". "candy" colors refer to those paints we once used on car models...but in this case the application over a "silver" metal paint gives a most satisfactory solution.
This Aotake application extended to the wheel wells on Nakajima built Zeros...Mitsubishi built A6M landing gear covers and wheel wells are the undersurface color. Nakajima built Zero landing gear gear leg painted with the undersurface color on both sides, the well itself and interior of the small crescent shaped door was in BLUE aotake.
The black A6M landing gear colors are illustrated by H. Fujii at:
http://japaneseaircraft.multiply.com/photos/album/101/A6M_landing_gear_covers_and_wheel_wellsNote the variety of field applied and factory colors for the "oleo strut pressure" markings on the exterior of the strut cover.
Mitsubishi used a blue-black paint for both the cowlings and the fuselage deck underneath the cockpit. Actually any 7 to 3 mix of black and dark blue paints will give you a good result. Nakajima used a true black colour.
One sensei wrote to me: "Most important thing we have to remember is that the color was controlled by military standards. Therefore, there should not have been differences among color of each airplane manufacturers. Of course, even so, regional factor caused some difference. Mitsubishi was located in Western part of Japan and Nakajima was located in Eastern part of Japan. So, Mitsubishi used colors manufactured in Western area and Nakajima bought the color from companies located in Eastern region. Even today, it is almost impossible to produce 100% same color in different timing and location. Black on cowling is an example of this. After 1943, all material was controlled by a ministry. This means that ministry decided all allocation of material. After this happened, talking about color difference has less meaning."
Of further interest, the black dangling aileron balances were a quick fix for limited combat ability on Mitsubishi-built Zero 21s until just before Pearl Harbor. This was to keep the planes from having high speed crashes and skin ripple during dives.
These "Pearl Harbor" vintage Zeros were flight restricted, until an internal fix was done on the Mitsubishi production line. Thus none with the internal fix were aboard the Kido Butai.
This was not used by Nakajima as the internal fix was made early enough for their production line. No Nakajima built Zeros were ready for
Pearl Harbor".
The newer Zeros with the internal fix began being swapped with the old "dangling aileron balance" as soon as possible. ACE T. Iwamoto noted in his diary that his new (post Pearl Harbor) Zero arrived in January 1942, while ACE Iyozo Fujita got his just before the Indian Ocean action.
http://japaneseaircraft.multiply.com/photos/album/1/Replica_Jan_1990 For the Jan 1990 REPLICA mag article "Shinjuwan no 101 ki", H. Yoshimura, M. Asano and I found that the stripes on the CV aircraft at Pearl Harbor did NOT go under the fuselage...at least for those we found photos.
We also found that the stripe on DI-108 on Akutan Island DID wrap under the fuselage. So we became wary.
For those Tainan Kokutai aircraft we have found that the diagonal stripe did NOT go under the fuselage.
Why did the majority NOT go under the fuselage was a puzzle?
THEN I was involved with the Confederate Air Force Zero 21....and heard the many complaints by the dude who painted the complete wrap of the fuselage stripes on EII-102, leading me to understand why the fuselage stripes did NOT go under the fuselage. There just was no room when on your back painting the stripe!
OH, we -the entire restoration crew- signed our names on that rear most stripe far under the fuselage, which was there until the Pacific Air Museum got their hands on it!
Reverend Sidnei Maneta (Brasil) has nice artwork for 'Pearl Harbor' and other CV borne actions:
http://japaneseaircraft.multiply.com/photos Hope this helps,
Cheers,
David Aiken, student of 7 Dec 1941...Shinjuwan Sakusen (Pearl Harbor Operation)
